Cavendish hopes for a sprint finish today

Mark Cavendish hopes for a sprint finish at the end of Friday’s seventh stage in Chiavenna ? but Columbia-Highroad’s Erik Zabel said the team would measure their efforts if it came to a pursuit between a breakaway and the bunch.

It’s another long stage, 244 kilometres from Innsbruck in Austria, dragging steadily uphill for most of the day before a 30-kilometre descent to the finish.

It could end in a sprint, but Zabel believes the teams interested in bringing it back together will have to co-operate.

A break is likely to go clear, but if the peloton is all together as they go over the top of the climb before the high-speed descent, the likes of Columbia, LPR for Alessandro Petacchi, Garmin for Tyler Farrar and Quick Step for Allan Davis will be interested in chasing.

However, Zabel told Cycling Weekly this morning that they would not commit to a long, tiring chase on their own because they are mindful of Sunday’s 165-kilometre circuit race in the centre of Milan ? which is tailor-made for Cavendish.

Today, Columbia have two options ? Cavendish, who wore the pink jersey for two days at the start of the race but has yet to win a stage here ? and Norway’s Edvald Boasson Hagen, who finished powerfully to take second place yesterday and rued the fact that the second group was unable to capture the leader, Michele Scarponi.